Indistinct
by wannabewyler
Summary: Indistinct - not clear or sharply defined. And in war, everything is indistinct.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello. I don't own anything. Quick note before you read, I've pretty much changed some of the events that happened in HBP as well as OOTP to fit with this story. Enjoy and review please.**

Dumbledore was dead but not by his hands. That was the first thing that went through Draco Malfoy's mind as he wandered towards the train with the other Slytherins. He'd had one task to prove himself to The Dark Lord and his parents, to prove himself to his aunt and all the other Death Eaters who thought he was weak. And he'd failed. He was going to be tortured in his home by his father and Him. He was going to kill the fucking mudblood.

It was all Granger's fault. Potter, Weasel and the Mudblood were all meeting Dumbledore at the Astronomy tower the night that Draco brought the Death Eaters into the castle. He was ready to kill the old man when the stupid whore disarmed him and distracted him from completing his task. It doesn't matter than Severus was there to cover for him, not at all. What did matter was that Severus was there to cover for him when he should have been able to do so himself. It was all because of _her._

Hermione fucking Granger was going to die if he saw her over the summer holidays.

_~I~_

Prefect meetings were boring and the train home to summer was always hectic. That's why, when Hermione was leaving a rather interesting Prefect meeting and was walking down an empty corridor on the train to the carriage where her friends were, she was pleasantly surprised. Although she didn't give it any thought as her head was buried in a book. The Tales Of Beedle The Bard. Dumbledore would have given it to her last night. He would have given Harry a snitch and Ron the deluminator. They weren't completely sure why they had been left the objects but they were left on his desk when McGonagall went in after his death, and notes left beside each item, saying who it was for.

As if he knew he was going to die soon.

Harry had paled at that, telling them that older man would probably have outlived all of them. But both Ron and Hermione could pick up on the underlying worry in his voice. Voldemort was growing strong and it didn't surprise them that he would want to get rid of the only wizard, besides Harry, who had been powerful enough to defeat him.

They hadn't even made it through a full year of Hogwarts and this time they were experiencing an early finish, a death and they weren't even going to have McGonagall as Headmistress next year. Word on the train was that Snape had got hold of that role.

Hermione sighed as she walked down the train, her head buried in her book but her thoughts everywhere else. That was the reason she bumped into five Slytherins.

She bumped into a hard chest causing her to drop her book, stumble backwards and reach out to grip onto something just to stay standing. Unfortunately, she ended up grabbing onto someone's arm. With her head bowed, she could see five pairs of feet and her book. She took a moment to compose herself before looking up to see unamused and disgusted faces. Her hand was wrapped around Blaise Zabini's forearm. When he noticed her looking, his face transformed into one of disgust and he gripped her hand to pull it off before stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"Mudblood." Draco greeted, his voice full of venom. She tried to control her emotions but she knew that some fear seeped out when his face turned into a knowing smirk. "You're in my way." She quickly reached down to pick up her book.

"Sorry ferret, I didn't realise that you were incapable of moving around me." His eyes flashed and he stepped forwards toward her but she straightened her back and stared back.

"I'm trying to give you a wide berth so I don't end your pointless existence." He ran a hand through his hair and looked at the others, nodding as they shuffled around her. She ignored the _mudblood _comments that were thrown her way by Crabbe, Goyle, Nott and Zabini until she was left alone in the corridor and sagged against the wall. Her life was in the balance whenever she faced Malfoy.

She controlled her breathing and smoothed out her face before she walked back into the compartment she was sharing with Ron, Harry and Ginny. Ron had rushed ahead after the Prefect meeting, even more so because the Head Girl had wanted to talk to her, believing that she was going to be Head Girl next year. She shoved open the door, said her greetings before sitting in the corner with her head buried in her book.

That was how she sat for the rest of the train journey to King's Cross.

When at the station, she grabbed her trunk and waved goodbye to her friends after repeatedly telling Molly Weasley that her parents were meeting her nearby and she really had to get going to meet up with them. She walked behind them since they were ready to go and had only been waiting to talk to her, and watched as they all left in the distance before she turned down an alley way; a shortcut home.

That was when the sound of footsteps caught her attention behind her.

She whirled, worried that it was someone coming to kill her like Malfoy so desperately wants and was both relieved and frightened when the alley was empty. She stood there, silent before gripping her wand tighter in her hand. Luckily her trunk had already been shrunk and placed in her pocket so she didn't have to worry about that when she ran from whoever was sneaking in the alley. After a few minutes, when nobody popped out and no more noises were heard, she turned around to carry on walking to her meeting point.

She walked into a tall, dark figure and she would have screamed loud if it wasn't for the hand that covered her mouth and her arm before apparating her away, leaving the alley empty and silent with nobody wiser about what had just gone on.

_~I~_

Draco watched as his friends left with smiles on their faces. It was summer; a time for purebloods to be happy away from mudbloods and blood traitors. They were all going home to be with their loving family where nobody will hurt them. Draco sighed, and with a heavy heart saw his mother standing there waiting. He wandered over to her and she cupped his face in her hands, a sign that _she _wasn't mad with him. Before he could open his mouth to say anything, she had apparated them back home to Malfoy Manor.

"How mad is father?" Draco asked once they had arrived. She winced before walking out of the floo room to their main room which was much more comfortable for them.

"He's not as mad as you'd think." She answered eventually once they had sat down. "He's having a meeting as we speak with The Dark Lord and won't be back till this evening."

"Are they talking about my task?" Narcissa nodded. "I tried mother, I really did. It was all ready to be used but the mudblood Granger was there and prevented me from doing it." Narcissa smiled.

"I know son." She told him, stroking the hair back off of his forehead. "The Zabini ball is tomorrow and you and Theo are staying over there with Blaise for a week. The Dark Lord will be over to talk to you at some point but let's not dwell. How was school?"

_~I~_

Hermione gasped when she was released and looked around her surroundings. Wherever she was, it looked to be expensive, like a Manor of some sort. Her heart thudded with fear; what if Malfoy had taken her? An amused snort caught her attention and she remembered that she wasn't alone. She turned to face her captor slowly.

"Granger." He smirked.

"Zabini."


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you to all of those who followed and here's the next chapter.. **

"Granger." He smirked.

"Zabini."

They both stood there in silence for a moment, sizing each other up before grinning and hugging each other. "It's good to see you little sister." He told her and she laughed, squeezing him closer. "You've gotten smaller." He remarked and she gasped, shoving him back.

"I'll have you know that I've grown since Christmas. It's you that's shot up like a beanstalk." He rolled his eyes before holding his hand out for her luggage which she took out her pocket. He enlarged it back to its normal size and left it for one of their house elves to deal with. "How mad is he?" She asked after a beat.

"I'm not aware. Father, however, is furious." She winced; when Valeo Zabini was mad, everyone knew about it. "He's currently having a meeting with The Dark Lord and Lucius Malfoy." Hermione stopped her walking to face her big brother, eyes wide with fear. "What?"

"Malfoy's here?"

"Only Lucius."

"But he hates me. He'll _Crucio _me on the spot and that's before I've even explained why I prevented Draco from killing Dumbledore himself. Then I'll get it again." He placed a soothing hand on her shoulder.

"You don't have to go." The burn that appeared in her left arm caused her to gasp in pain and Blaise winced. "Or maybe you do. I'll be in my room once you're finished." Blaise was used to his twin sister having to deal with Voldemort and it was never a surprise for him to help her get rid of the pain or heal the injuries that he had given her when she disappointed him. Being a spy for Voldemort and being as close to Potter as she was meant that she was the most relied on by The Dark Lord which also meant the most pain had been inflicted upon her from his wand.

He watched as she walked towards the drawing room at the end of the corridor where she always met with Him. He hadn't been initiated into the ranks yet unlike his sister, and part of him was dreading the pain that would accompany a failure but he wanted the world free from the mudblood plague and he would do anything to get rid of them. This was his life.

_~I~_

Hermione stopped at the doors of the drawing room. She could hear talking; she could definitely hear the sound of her father pacing the floors as he attempted to rein in his anger. She took a deep breath, waved off the glamour on her left arm and walked into the room.

Silence.

Then pain. She could hear herself grunting and groaning with the pain whilst she heard the sounds of arguing, louder than before to get the point across before everything stopped and she was left restin on her knees, on the floor to get control of her muscles which were a quivering mess. "Stand." Voldemort ordered and despite her protesting limbs, she rose till she was stood before the three men with her head bowed in respect.

"My Lord, she's a mudblood, surely you aren't going to let her get away with anything especially since she was the one that prevented Draco from completing his task." Lucius protested but was silenced with Voldemort raised his hand.

"This is my daughter." Valeo introduced. "Hermione Zabini."

_~I~_

"And you've known all along?" Lucius asked Hermione once he'd been brought up to speed on her situation and identity. She nodded. "My dear, you are a very good actress." She smiled proudly at the compliment from the man who had crucio'ed her no more than five minutes ago. "I apologise for my earlier act of brashness. I must admit that I was most angry at you for causing my son to incomplete his task."

"It's quite alright Mr Malfoy. I deserve it for unwittingly preventing his task from being completed."

"Ah yes, now we got to the crux of the matter. Why did you stop him?" Voldemort asked, his red eyes watching her.

"It was Potter's fault my Lord. He'd been suspicious of Draco since we got back to school and he worked out what Draco was doing. By the time he informed me of what he found out about Draco, we were heading to Dumbledore and when we got there, we discovered him being held at wand point by Draco. Harry looked at me, knowing I was the best at magic out of the three of us and he moved away to do whatever he was going to do. I attempted to put it off as long as possible but I knew that I couldn't _not _stop Draco and so I disarmed him otherwise I'd have been compromised my Lord."

"Ah yes. You're position in Potter's ranks is far more important than my newest Death Eater competing his task." He sighed. _"Crucio." _Her body crumpled to the floor as she screamed, her heels thrumming against the floor as her body convulsed. She welcomed the pain, accepted it as the punishment she deserved for disappointing. "You are dismissed." He informed her once he ended the spell and she was left on the floor again. "And take Nagini with you, I feel you may need some comfort after the past year." Her eyes lit up with excitement and she quickly rushed to her feet, despite wobbling once standing.

She bowed respectfully to her Lord and the other men before walking out of the room, knowing that Nagini would follow. The two of them, Hermione and Nagini, had been inseparable when she was a child and training with Dolohov and Voldemort. She'd experience the _crucio _multiple times a day as well as other punishments and torturous curses and so at night, when she was away from the comforting arms of her brother, the snake would wrap herself around the girl and the two would drift off into a peaceful slumber. As the years went past, and Hermione grew older, experiencing less punishments and more time with her family as her lessons drew to practically a standstill, the duo would spend less time together but when in each other's company, no matter how long or short, the snake would act like the giant softy she was when with Hermione and they would bond as they had before.

_~I~_

"Father." Draco greeted when Lucius appeared from the floo. Both Draco and Narcissa stood when he appeared, Draco with his head bowed since he couldn't bear to see the face of disappointment and anger on his face before striking his son with an Unforgivable.

"Draco." Lucius greeted coolly before moving past him to the liquor cabinet and grabbing three glasses, filling each with firewhiskey. "My boy, my darling, we should celebrate for The Lord had an even sneakier and better plan than I had ever imagined." Draco exchanged a confused look with his mother who just shrugged before smiling at her husband.

"That's great darling."

"This plan, father? Will I ever be privy to the information for it?" Lucius smiled, passing over the glass to his son.

"Soon my boy, very soon."

The night passed surprisingly well for the Malfoy's and even better than Draco could have ever imagined. He didn't experience the pain that came from a _Crucio _from his father and not once did he catch the older Malfoy glance at him with disgust or disappointment. He'd been in good spirits for the rest of the night and it was the first night in years that Draco could ever remember his father _smiling. _

_~I~_

"Hermione, really?" Blaise asked, his nose scrunched up slightly in disgust despite the smile on his face. Holidays were his favourite part of the year since he got to be with his sister without the pretence of a fight coming along.

"I don't know what you're on about." She responded, still lovingly kiss the snake whose tongue flitted out every now and then to lick her cheek. "Draco is looking as delicious as ever." She remarked, wiggling her eyebrows at her brother who frowned.

"Don't. You're too young to think of boys like that. One thing muggles have done right is sign off their virgin women to nunnery's so they don't have to worry about boys defiling them. After the war, you're going to one." She gaped at him, not even sure how to tell him that she wasn't as virginal as he would like. "He's mighty pissed at you anyway."

"Me? Why?" Hermione asked, turning to face her brother completely. He'd successfully distracted her from how 'delicious' Draco had been looking and Nagini, now that she had lost the full attention, was wrapping herself around Hermione's middle so she could slumber.

"Well he hasn't mentioned what you've done, and he hasn't directly said it was you but whatever you did has had him practically breathing fire." She frowned, disappointed with herself for not seeing the signs and failing to persuade Harry into letting it go. "Wasn't anything bad, was it?"

"I caused Draco to fail his mission given personally by the Dark Lord." Blaise stared at her with wide eyes. "Potter's fault, of course. He left me to deal with Draco instead of doing it himself and I couldn't exactly just leave it. I held it off for so long but eventually I had to cave because I couldn't have him being suspicious because then I'd be the one that was in danger. I hold a big role and the Lord would be disappointed if I lose it." Blaise was silent for a bit, his gaze lowered to the snake which looked slightly sad about Hermione being in danger.

"You did what you had to do to survive and you can berate yourself over it every day for the rest of your life but at least you'll have that. A life. Because if you hadn't done what you did, who knows what would have happened to you." She stared down at Nagini for a while, who in turn looked up at Hermione and seeing the request on her face, slithered to the floor so that Hermione could climb over to Blaise and cuddle up with him. "You're my sister and if you have to have sex with a troll or marry a mudblood to survive, then do it. I'd rather have you than not at all." He kissed her on the head and she smiled.

Blaise would always make her feel better about everything. "What was his mission anyway?"

"To kill Dumbledore."

"Fucking hell Hermione!" Blaise cried out, fake indignation on his face. "Couldn't you have risked your life to let him get rid of that old coot?"

_~I~_

The first dinner back as a family was the same as always; quiet and awkward. Blaise and Hermione had already gossiped and told each other what had happened since the last holiday and Christa, their mother, always manages to corner the two of them in the library where they in turn tell _her _the same things they just discussed. But they never really tell Valeo, their father.

He wasn't their biological father and because of that, Hermione can't accept him as Blaise had. She refuses to call him 'father' and rarely talks to him about anything regarding her life. She always brings Nagini to dinner where they are cosy and they share food and Nagini rests on her shoulder. Valeo despises watching the snake be so close to her and dinners like this are always tense.

"So," Christa exclaimed with fake enthusiasm to break the silence. "Are we all glad to be home?"

"Of course I am. Now I get to live a summer of glamours and hiding in my room whilst Blaise or yourself have guests over. Otherwise I can go to The Burrow to get away from all my identity hiding and spend my time with a bunch of Weasel blood traitors and the half-blood who I am destined to help bring down." Hermione snapped, her eyes a blaze with anger. Seeing her mother's face fall caused her to sigh, though she could never apologise, she could see she that she had only made her mother upset. "Mother I," She sighed. "I'll be in my room. Come Nagini."

Once Hermione had left the room, they all sighed with dejection. Each holiday home seemed to becoming more tense and awkward with all of them walking on eggshells. "I have news." Valeo said, a fake smile plastered on his face. "I was going to tell Hermione but-" He placed his cutlery down. "The Dark Lord and I have discussed Hermione. We're nearing the end of her time at Hogwarts, nearing the end of a constant pressure on her shoulders and we've decided that this summer we are going to announce her position and identity to those in the inner circle and our closest friends. She won't have to hide all summer like she believes."


End file.
